Brian Meehan's brother jailed for six years

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that Meehan began to abuse heroin again on release and lost his job after he was charged with assaulting a garda while assisting another man, who was unlawfully at large from Mountjoy Jail, to escape in February 2003.

Meehan and his co-accused, Patrick Curran, then committed a number of robberies at shops in the space of a few days to fund that addiction.

Meehan (aged 33), from Stanaway Road, Crumlin, pleaded guilty to robbery at the Spar on Bird Avenue, Clonskeagh on March 8, 2003; robbery at Spar Roebuck Road, Clonskeagh and Lower Rathmines Road on March 9, 2003; and robbery at Spar on Rathgar Road on March 11, 2003.

He also admitted assaulting a garda on February 7, 2003. He has nine previous convictions.

Curran (aged 28), from Sheephill Green, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty to taking part in the same robberies, as well as separate robberies at the Friarsland filling station on Goatstown Road on February 18 and Esso Garage in Knocklyon on March 10, 2003. He has four previous convictions.

Judge Michael White adjourned Curran’s case until October 7 because he was told he had another robbery offence coming up and remanded him on continuing bail on the condition that he continued a residential course at the Coolmine Lodge drug rehabilitation centre.

He imposed a six-year sentence on Meehan, including a consecutive 12 months for the assault, because he was on bail, but suspended the final year on condition that he remained under the supervision of the Probation and Welfare service upon his release.

"The aggravating and the mitigating factors in this case are stark. The most aggravating factor is that knives were used in the terrible ordeal that the victims were put through in the course of these offences. It must have been frightening for them," Judge White said.

"The very stark mitigating factor is that Mr Meehan has a very chronic heroin addiction and the court has to balance that by imposing a custodial sentence, but not as extensive were it not for his drug habit," he concluded.

Gda Paul Corcoran told the court that Meehan was jailed for 10 years in 1998 on four counts of robbery. He was released in April 2002 after Judge Elizabeth Dunne reviewed the sentence. She subsequently reactivated the balance in May 2003.

Ms Iseult O’Malley BL, for Meehan, told Judge White that after her client was released from prison things were going well for him and he was working hard. However, after his arrest on February 7 he lost his job and began using drugs again.

The offences he committed were to fund his drug habit but he was now studying history and psychology in prison and trying to get his life back on track.

She said he was aware he would be spending a significant period in custody but he had pleaded guilty and cooperated with gardaí.

Mr Luan O Braonain, for Curran, said his client was a promising chef and had set up his own business in Wexford. When this business went into trouble he returned to Dublin and began using cocaine again, having previously recovered from an addiction.

He was now making great strides to stay off drugs and had been admitted to bail last December to attend the Coolmine Lodge drug rehabilitation centre.

Meehan’s brother, Brian, was convicted in 1999 of the 1996 murder of Sunday Independent journalist Veronica Guerin. She was shot by a man on a motorcycle as she stopped in her car at traffic lights on the Naas dual carriageway.

Meehan is the only person serving time for the murder but is expected to have his appeal heard within the next year.